New DH Trails in the Algarve Portugal

People need to know that Portugal is a seriously sic place to ride. We are creating a scene out of nothing down here. I am told that there was a very good scene here in the early 2000's, but recent economic struggles in the Algarve have left the local DH scene in tatters. Few people who ride makes for even fewer people to build trails. The best bet for pumping up the scene is for the rest of the world to come down here to ride - giving the local trail crews like Ride Portugal the means to do what they do best: Build bad ass trails.

Back in November last year the Ride Portugal crew started work on what was to be their flagship piece of work. Usually you want to cater for a varied ability level, so that few people are left out of the fun. The problem is, you are always going get the odd group of riders who want to ride something a bit more challenging. Camber Gambler was built as a statement of what the Algarve can offer those riders who are looking for the kind of trail that exists right at the fringes of the downhilling experience. We are not going to claim that these are the very steepest corners you can possibly find, nor the biggest gaps and rockiest gardens, but we can guarantee that that anyone looking for this sort of riding is not likely to be disappointed with the Camber Gambler.

The building took almost 5 months. And the track lay dormant for quite some time before a rider could be found who was fast enough to make the trail look good. It's hard to make steep tracks look good on film, but this guy who is arguably the fastest rider in Portugal was on the case. Francisco Pardal - last year's overall National Champion, and currently in the lead of this year's points series - took the job in his stride. You have to watch the video a few times before you can get an idea of the steepness because Paradal does not make it look steep at all. With plenty dust slinging roosty goonesss, Ride Portugal presents:

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